Akuma to Love Song begins excellently, and then, like many other unfortunate shoujo romance manga, it begins going downhill.
Maria certainly falls under the typical "misunderstood protagonist" archetype, but the saving grace is the mangaka's execution--she really knew how to pull off Maria's personality without it seeming too forced. The side characters are also immensely satisfying--rather than the typical caricatures, they are real people with different facets to their personality. The antagonists are also approached in a similar manner. Their worries and insecurities are explored, and their personality is fleshed out enough to make them understandable, if not sympathetic.
However, Akuma to Love Song soon becomes yet another shoujo that overstays its welcome. With the onset of the Anna arc, the manga seems to have devolved into an angst-fest, and the characters' misunderstandings and dilemmas have become tiring, rather than invigorating. The romance, too, has slowed to such a crawl, with such wangst involved, that I feel more like facepalming than cheering the male lead on.
The problem is that Akuma to Love Song is currently using misunderstandings to further its plot (or lack thereof, in this case). And, although there are rare instances where misunderstandings are done well, this is not one of those instances. The fact is that every single issue in the manga right now can be resolved through open communication between the two main characters, but one of them refuses to communicate with the other, and the reason given for that is flimsy at best.
It's really a shame. Akuma to Love Song could've been a great shoujo romance. There is definitely a plethora of cliches but, at first, they were executed in an interesting and compelling manner. But, unfortunately, after the initial volumes, it seems clear that the mangaka suffers from overstretching and lack of planning, with the later volumes an enormous step down.
Not precisely worth a read, but the art is beautiful, if it's any consolation... though it doesn't entirely make up for the massive amounts of headbang in the recent chapters.
edit: OK, now, as of volume nine, I am seriously considering dropping this. (The only thing that is stopping me is that there's only a few more volumes left. I CAN DO THIS.) It seems that every time Meguro and Maria's relationship moves the slightest bit forward, it always has to move MANY STEPS BACK right afterwards.
And, while before the misunderstandings can at least be (flimsily) justified, the mangaka has really gone too far now. She's basically relying on a totally ridiculous misunderstanding (that can just be resolved by the two main characters HAVING A CONVERSATION, with WORDS) to delay the already trainwreck'd plot. Um. No. Just. No. I've never been fond of misunderstandings, but the one at the end of volume nine just takes the cake for one of the worst ever I've ever had the misfortune to see. Seriously displeased. :I
edit2: OK, volume 12 now, and it hasn't gotten any better. If anything, it has gotten even worse. It's the second to last volume, so I'm going to stick this out, but at this point, any affection I have for this series is completely down the drain. I have nothing left for you, Akuma to Love Song, for you have soundly defeated me.
Namely, what I have the biggest problem with in the recent developments is that the mangaka is actually making Maria FORGIVE HER MOTHER'S RAPIST. And she's also pulling the "It's OK because he was in love with your mother all along" card which I hope I don't need to remind everyone is super, super gross. Her mother committed suicide because of this man! And now the author wants to write him a redemption narrative? Uh, no. All my respect for the mangaka has been lost, starting now.
Like, I can maybe kind of understand this decision from a narrative standpoint. The mangaka needs Maria to move on and grow to love herself and the people around her, and this love has always been colored by her mother's rape. So the redemption narrative might've felt like the obvious route to her.
That doesn't excuse the fact that it is wholly offensive and, frankly, a cheap narrative device in order to tie this manga into a neat little bow for the finish. Rather than sticking to the (mostly) realistic touch of the early chapters, the mangaka instead decides to go the route of soap opera dramas and colored perceptions of society that could be actively harmful to those experiencing these same instances in reality.
It's a shame because the earlier chapters of this manga promised so much more. It promised resistance and challenge and a unique narrative. But, in the end, the mangaka chooses to take the easy way out by defaulting to offensive tropes and problematic storytelling. More than the Anna arc, more than the misunderstandings, that is what makes me lose respect for the mangaka.
Akuma to Love Song, you could've been a great manga, but, unfortunately, your mangaka doesn't know how to write nuanced stories, and this arc will always color my perceptions of you, not as "what could've been" but as "complete shit."
(-4)
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